Flight From Jealousy
by Razzle
Summary: Cats! fanfic: Two tomcats fight over a queen. Munkustrap/Demeter Macavity/Demeter


"Please stop fighting!" Demeter begged, tears in her eyes. The two tom cats paid her no heed. Munkustrap and Macavity were each determined that the other would not be her mate.  
  
So they continued the fight, despite Demeter's pleading. She was terrified that her love would be hurt or killed by the the other jealous tom.  
Suddenly, her worst fears were realized as the tom she loved fell beneath the other's claws.  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!" she screamed, but she already knew he was dead. She raised her eyes and met the gaze of her one true love's killer. "No," she whispered, backing away. "I won't be your mate! Never!" She turned and ran, but she knew, eventually, she would be caught.  
  
Sure enough, she heard the soft sound of the tom's footsteps, as he ran after her in the night. She ran faster, but nothing she could do seemed to make any difference. He was always following her. Demeter felt that her lungs had turned to fire, and they felt so heavy they might cause her to topple forward to the ground; the pads of her paws burned from running on the cobblestones in the alleyways; and her throat was raw and dry.  
  
A loud, shrill noise made her stop, and she hid under a bench seated nearby. Once her thoughts cleared, she realized it was only a train whistle. The train! she thought. She peeked out from under the bench, and confirmed her suspicions. There were several other benches around, and she could barely make out railroad tracks ahead of her--she was at the train station. Yes, the Midnight Mail gets back tonight! Skimbleshanks will help me!  
  
She soared with hope as the train rolled into the station, and screeched to a halt as the brakes were put on. Demeter flattened her ears at the unpleasant noise. Then, as the door on one of the train cars opened and Skimbleshanks appeared, framed in the light of the doorway, Demeter shrank back and tears sprang to her eyes. In that light, with his ginger colored fur, he looked exactly like Macavity! Demeter could not talk to him now, it would hurt too much.  
  
"Demeter..." an all too familiar voice whispered behind her.  
  
"NO!" she screamed and began running again.  
  
"You are mine!" the tom cat yelled after her, the voice mocking. "Remember that Demeter! You'll come back, because you need me, now that your Prince Charming is gone!"  
  
Demeter was lost. Not in reality, but in mind and in heart. She had no place to go, nowhere that would welcome her--except one place. Sobbing, Demeter was forced to turn and go back to the Junkyard, where at least there was food and shelter. She climbed a stack of tires, intending to sit on top, but weariness took over and she wobbled precariously for a moment before toppling through the center of the tires to the ground--unintentionally one of the best hiding places she could find. Too tired to climb out again, Demeter fell asleep.  
  
~*~  
  
Demeter woke at the touch of a paw on her shoulder, and would have screamed only that a strong paw was clamped firmly over her mouth. "Ssshhh, it's all right," a soft voice said. "I know what happened--don't wake the others!"   
Demeter looked up and sagged with relief. It was only Alonzo.  
  
Seeing that she was calmer now, Alonzo released her and said, "I saw the body--I'm so sorry, Demeter! I know a place where I can take you, it's safe there. I'm sorry, but we won't be able to tell your family before we go. We can send a message back later. Come with me." Alonzo jumped up and onto the top tire, then turned and waited for Demeter to do the same.  
  
Demeter kept close behind Alonzo as he led her through the winding cobblestone streets, not really knowing where they were headed and not caring either. Turning a corner, they ran smack into the very cat Demeter feared they would. Before either she or Alonzo could react, he grabbed her roughly by the scruff of her neck--as if she were a kitten. It was the deepest insult a cat could recieve: that she did not deserve to be respected as an adult cat.  
  
With a growl that set both Demeter's and her captor's ears back flat, Alonzo charged the larger tom cat, throwing Demeter to the side and out of harm's way.  
  
Demeter looked on in silent horror, her worst nightmare being replayed, only this time with her loyal friend, not her lover.  
  
The two cats wrestled, until Alonzo was pinned beneath his larger opponent. Demeter saw the paw come up, claws unsheathed, preparing for the final strike.  
  
"Look out, Alonzo!" she screamed as the deadly claws started their descent. Alonzo heard her, and grabbed the tomcat's paw, so that the claws dug into his shoulder instead of his neck. He brought his hind legs up and gave one ferocious, powerful kick upwards, sending the cat flying over his head. Alonzo got up and turned quickly to fight again, then stopped abruptly. His opponent laid still in front of him, and Alonzo could tell from the angle that his neck was broken.  
  
Ever so slowly, Demeter crept towards Alonzo, looking at the corpse. The two cats that had haunted her life with their fighting and jealousy were now dead. She buried her face in Alonzo's fur, and he stroked her head comfortingly. She wondered for a moment if she loved Alonzo, the cat that had saved her from a fate worse than death itself. She looked up into Alonzo's eyes and smiled. She did, but as a friend. She knew without asking that the bond between them was unconditional, with no strings attached, and she need never fear losing him to another queen. Indeed, she would be happy for him if he ever did find his true love. As for Demeter, she didn't know if she would ever be able to be in love again.  
  
After a long silence while Demeter was thinking these things, Alonzo took her by the paw and led her away to that place he had said was safe. As they walked, Demeter wondered what the cats there would be like. Perhaps she could learn to love again. But that would come all in it's own proper time. Right now her mind was filled with thoughts of friendship.  
  
Was it Macavity that lay dead in the alley, his neck broken, or Munkustrap?  
And does it really matter? 


End file.
